Its amazing to me how much courage and tenacity I can gain from reading all of your words of wisdom in these posts. I see a lot of myself reflected in the thoughts of TMU and Tim. I have a lot of issues with esteem and my control is usually in the form of some manipulation or the other. I have to learn that I cannot manipulate this situation at all. I also need to reconcile being a friend and being a man. I have so much to learn here, but I think I'm on the right track. Most importantly for me at this moment...stop the pursuit! Its easy to say, hard to do, but I really think that is the key here.

One thing I do empathize with...how is it that she can give you the world in one breath (reconciliation) and tear it away in the next? I guess that comes from the guilt that they feel and its simply because they are not ready to offer the world.

TMU, Tim, Frank and everyone else that contributed to this thread, thank you dearly. I'm beginning to restore balance here.

"Achieve success, but without vanity; Achieve success, but without aggression; Achieve success, but without gain; Achieve success, but without force." Lao Tzu